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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fall — to drop
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. scale — size or range
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rule — government
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fall — the season
  14. wake — a trail
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. rule — a law
  18. ball — a dance
  19. row — a line
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. plane — a tool
  23. scale — in music
  24. row — to paddle

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