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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. club — a group
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — a country
  5. lie — to recline
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — to come down
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. land — ground
  18. club — for golf
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. club — for dancing
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cold — not warm

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