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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. last — to go on
  10. court — of a king
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pop — music
  13. court — of law
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pop — soda
  17. squash — to crush
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. squash — the sport
  22. ball — a great time
  23. pop — to visit
  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