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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. present — a gift
  3. ball — a great time
  4. present — the time now
  5. ball — a dance
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — there
  11. cell — a phone
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pop — music
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. content — happy
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — in music
  24. content — the amount

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