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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. root — of a word
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. last — finally
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cell — in biology
  10. lean — thin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. last — to go on
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mark — a grade
  18. lean — to bend
  19. last — final
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. root — the cause

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