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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · mate · chest · straw · row · cold · ball · temple

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. ball — a great time
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. chest — a box
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mate — a partner
  23. ball — a dance
  24. straw — a straw man

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