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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. race — a contest
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bat — the animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. game — a match
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. shower — rain
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. lean — to bend
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. lean — thin
  18. kick — in football
  19. shower — to wash
  20. race — the arms race
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bowl — a dish

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