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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. last — final
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. last — to go on
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. content — happy
  18. last — finally
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wake — a trail
  24. content — the amount

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