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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. shower — rain
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. spring — a coil
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bound — tied together
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. bound — obliged
  11. present — a gift
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spring — of water
  14. ball — a great time
  15. present — there
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spring — the season
  18. bound — certain
  19. present — the time now
  20. hand — in cards
  21. row — a line
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — thin

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