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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. spell — letters
  3. object — to protest
  4. stock — shares
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — a short time
  10. object — an aim
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fall — the season
  14. ball — a great time
  15. stock — goods
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spell — magic
  19. object — a thing
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. stock — a soup base

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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