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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. chest — a box
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — a committee
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. row — a line
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. board — to get on
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fall — the season
  24. wake — a trail

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