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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rock — music
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pit — a hole
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bear — the animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. pit — in a race
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. game — a match
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bear — to put up with

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