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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cold — an illness
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — to cut
  10. deal — to handle
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cold — not warm
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ball — a great time
  16. fall — the season
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — to drop
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. squash — to crush

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