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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a great time
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chest — a box
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bore — to drill
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bore — to tire
  11. row — a line
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chest — of your body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chest — of your body
  24. hand — help

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