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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rock — music
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spell — letters
  7. track — a path
  8. ball — a dance
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rock — a stone
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. scale — in music
  13. spring — a coil
  14. current — electric
  15. spring — the season
  16. current — of water
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spell — magic
  19. spring — of water
  20. scale — size or range
  21. current — happening now
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. track — a song

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