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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. staff — employees
  5. mate — a friend
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. staff — employees

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