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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rush — hurry
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. snap — to click
  19. last — final
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. mate — a friend
  24. ball — a round shape

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