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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. swing — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pit — in a race
  19. game — a match
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pit — a hole

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