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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. last — finally
  3. hand — help
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ground — a position
  7. spring — of water
  8. rash — hasty
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. last — final
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rash — a series
  14. last — to go on
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. field — a subject
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ground — crushed
  20. field — farmland
  21. spring — the season
  22. ground — the earth
  23. field — for sport
  24. rush — hurry

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