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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. ball — a great time
  3. shower — to wash
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — rain
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — of water
  23. fine — all right
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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