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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ball — a dance
  3. land — ground
  4. scale — in music
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mate — a partner
  7. squash — to crush
  8. land — a country
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pound — a weight
  14. mate — a friend
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. last — final
  17. wound — an injury
  18. land — to come down
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wound — an injury
  21. last — finally
  22. ball — a great time
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. scale — size or range

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