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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. present — a gift
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. present — there
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stock — goods
  12. present — the time now
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wound — an injury
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. safe — a strongbox

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