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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. march — the month
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ball — a dance
  12. mark — a trace
  13. last — finally
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. march — music
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — final
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. game — a match
  24. ball — a great time

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