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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. last — final
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. last — to go on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. key — in music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cold — an illness

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