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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. last — to go on
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. spring — of water
  7. suit — to fit
  8. kid — child
  9. ball — a dance
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. suit — clothes
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. suit — in cards
  22. ball — a great time
  23. scale — in music
  24. wave — with your hand

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