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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. ball — a dance
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hand — help
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — a box
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bowl — a football final

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