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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rest — what's left
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rest — a break
  12. snap — to click
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. scale — in music
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. ball — a great time
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — an amount
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. ball — a dance

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