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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. chip — to eat
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chip — for betting
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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