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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ball — a dance
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. firm — steady
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. ground — a position
  13. last — to go on
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. firm — a company
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. firm — decided
  23. last — final
  24. snap — to click

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