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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 120 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. snap — to click
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. last — to go on
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. degree — an amount
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. last — final
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. capital — a city
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. lean — to bend
  20. ball — a great time
  21. lean — thin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. last — finally

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