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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. tube — a container
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. can — a tin
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — not warm
  12. can — to be able to
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of law
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cold — an illness
  23. can — a tin
  24. wave — with your hand

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