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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. ball — a dance
  3. club — a group
  4. field — for sport
  5. club — for dancing
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. snap — to click
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. root — of a plant
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. field — farmland
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. root — of a word
  17. field — a subject
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. club — for golf
  21. ball — a great time
  22. lie — to recline
  23. root — the cause
  24. stand — to bear

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