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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — for sport
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. present — there
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. court — of a king
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. hand — help
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ball — a great time
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. hand — in cards
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wind — moving air
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. court — of law

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