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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bass — the fish
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lie — to recline
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bass — low music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. trunk — of a tree

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