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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. drill — the tool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. row — to paddle
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pit — a hole
  9. ball — a dance
  10. drill — army training
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. pit — in a race
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. ball — a great time
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bear — the animal
  22. row — a line
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. coach — a trainer

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