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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. ball — a dance
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ball — a great time
  7. race — a contest
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fall — to drop
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — an illness
  16. race — humankind
  17. march — the month
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. race — the arms race
  22. hand — help
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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