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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. net — in sport
  5. staff — a stick
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. staff — employees
  8. ball — a great time
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. last — final
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. mug — a cup
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. content — happy
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — the amount
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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