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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rest — a break
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. row — a line
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. rash — a series
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cold — an illness
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fine — all right
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. row — a quarrel

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