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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 116 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cold — an illness
  3. track — a path
  4. lean — thin
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. track — to keep track
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mate — to breed
  9. scale — size or range
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. kick — in football
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. track — a song
  18. mate — a partner
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. scale — in music
  24. ball — a dance

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