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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pop — music
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. land — ground
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — a country
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pop — to visit
  21. land — to come down
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. straw — dry grass

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