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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rock — music
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ball — a great time
  14. row — to paddle
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rash — a series
  19. row — a line
  20. ground — a position
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. present — the time now
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. present — there

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