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

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a dance
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. ball — a great time
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rock — a stone
  13. squash — the sport
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. court — of a king
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. dip — to sink

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