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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. kid — child
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wind — moving air
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. ball — a round shape

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