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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. club — for golf
  3. lie — to recline
  4. ball — a dance
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ground — a position
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. branch — a division
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. last — to go on

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