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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitch — completely
  16. squash — the sport
  17. kid — child
  18. court — for sport
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kid — to tease
  24. straw — dry grass

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