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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. squash — to crush
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. drill — army training
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cell — in biology
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. drill — a practice
  9. squash — the sport
  10. present — the time now
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. present — there
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. kid — child
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. drill — the tool
  22. kid — to tease
  23. present — a gift
  24. cell — a phone

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