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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — child
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wake — a trail
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. kid — to tease
  13. last — to go on
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lie — to recline
  19. last — finally
  20. snap — to click
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cabinet — ministers

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