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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a dance
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. spell — a short time
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. spell — letters
  10. fall — the season
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spell — magic
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — in golf
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. sharp — clever
  19. swing — music
  20. rush — hurry
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. swing — to play on

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