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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lie — to recline
  6. ball — a dance
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bear — the animal
  9. swing — in golf
  10. kid — child
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. swing — music
  16. plane — a tool
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. ball — a great time
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. plane — in geometry

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