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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. ball — a great time
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. last — final
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stock — goods
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. stock — shares
  24. last — finally

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