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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. track — a path
  4. bore — to drill
  5. last — to go on
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ball — a dance
  13. kid — child
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bore — to tire
  16. track — a song
  17. last — final
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kid — to tease

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