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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rest — a break
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. spell — letters
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cue — for pool
  8. race — humankind
  9. cue — a signal
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. race — a contest
  13. wound — an injury
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rest — what's left
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — magic
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spell — a short time

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