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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. game — a match
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — there
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. present — a gift
  20. ball — a great time
  21. present — the time now
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. game — a kind of play

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