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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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. can — a tin
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. face — to confront
  5. degree — an amount
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cell — in biology
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. degree — temperature
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — a phone
  12. perch — the fish
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. can — a tin
  16. degree — from a university
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. ball — a great time
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. can — to be able to
  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