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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rush — hurry
  7. drill — the tool
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cell — a phone
  13. dip — to sink
  14. hand — help
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. craft — boats
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bear — the animal
  22. craft — a skill
  23. hand — in cards
  24. drill — army training

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