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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — child
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. last — to go on
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cap — a lid
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wind — moving air
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. last — final

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