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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. ball — a great time
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. drill — army training
  7. ball — a dance
  8. spring — a coil
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. drill — the tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — of water
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rash — on the skin

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