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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitch — completely
  4. spell — a short time
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. spell — magic
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — not warm
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. sharp — clever
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ball — a great time
  24. foot — a measure

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