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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. last — final
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — to wash
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. shower — rain
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. mark — a trace
  18. foot — a measure
  19. band — a ring
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mark — a grade
  22. last — to go on
  23. band — a music group
  24. foot — the bottom

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