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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 120 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rest — what's left
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rash — a series
  19. firm — a company
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a dance
  22. pop — soda
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pop — music

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