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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. drill — the tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. march — music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. march — the month
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. hand — in cards
  15. drill — army training
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — help
  21. march — the month
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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