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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mate — a partner
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. mate — a friend
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. squash — to crush
  20. drill — a practice
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bound — obliged
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bound — certain

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