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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pop — music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cold — not warm
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — to bear
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ball — a great time
  20. pop — to visit
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. capital — money
  24. key — in 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