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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cell — a phone
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bear — the animal
  6. key — in music
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. key — the most important part
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cell — in biology
  13. key — for a lock
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bear — to put up with

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