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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — rain
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chest — a box
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. track — to keep track
  10. spell — letters
  11. track — a song
  12. court — of a king
  13. track — a path
  14. court — of law
  15. fall — the season
  16. row — to paddle
  17. ball — a great time
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spell — magic
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spell — a short time
  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