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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. ball — a dance
  2. suit — to fit
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. suit — clothes
  7. drill — army training
  8. capital — money
  9. suit — in cards
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. drill — the tool
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rash — a series
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — a practice
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. capital — a city
  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