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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — child
  5. spring — the season
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wake — a trail
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bulb — for light
  10. spring — of water
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. track — a path
  15. spring — a coil
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ball — a dance
  19. track — a song
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. hand — part of the body
  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