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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. snap — to click
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. court — for sport
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ball — a dance
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pound — a weight
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com