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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ball — a great time
  6. craft — boats
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spring — the season
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. chest — a box
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chest — of your body
  18. craft — a skill
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cold — the Cold War

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