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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. hand — help
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ball — a great time
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chest — a box
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. shower — rain
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wake — a trail
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fork — in a road

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