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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. fall — to drop
  3. board — to get on
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. last — to go on
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. last — finally
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — a video
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. board — a committee
  20. kid — child
  21. clip — for paper
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. clip — to cut
  24. last — 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