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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ground — a position
  5. ball — a dance
  6. chair — a leader
  7. scale — in music
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. ground — the earth
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cap — a hat
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. scale — size or range
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. clip — a video
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. clip — for paper
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cap — a lid
  24. straw — a straw man

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