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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ball — a dance
  5. net — for catching
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. net — after costs
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. ball — a great time
  15. board — a committee
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wake — a trail
  19. net — in sport
  20. fine — high quality
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cell — in biology
  23. board — to get on
  24. fall — the season

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