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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hand — help
  3. cold — not warm
  4. squash — the sport
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. lie — to recline

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