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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 116 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hand — help
  10. wound — an injury
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. squash — to crush
  14. hand — in cards
  15. fall — to drop
  16. squash — the sport
  17. ball — a dance
  18. rock — music
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rock — a stone

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