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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. last — final
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. last — finally
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. root — the cause
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. root — of a word
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. root — of a plant
  17. spring — of water
  18. key — the most important part
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — the season
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spring — a coil
  24. season — in sport

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