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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. club — for golf
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. track — to keep track
  7. club — for dancing
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. spring — of water
  10. track — a path
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — the season
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. track — a song
  17. club — a group
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chest — a box
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a great time

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