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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. ball — a dance
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. shower — rain
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bass — low music
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. shower — to wash
  21. dip — to sink
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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