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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. last — final
  3. chest — of your body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pitch — completely
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. rule — a law
  11. chest — a box
  12. branch — a division
  13. key — the most important part
  14. last — finally
  15. key — in music
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. key — for a lock
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — to go on

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