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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 124 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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cold — an illness
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cold — not warm
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. ball — a great time
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — a division
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. squash — the sport
  24. foot — a measure

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