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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. fall — the season
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. game — wild animals
  17. sharp — clever
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pitch — completely

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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