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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rock — a stone
  11. board — a committee
  12. spring — of water
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — the season
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kid — to tease
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rock — music
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. board — to get on

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