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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. rash — a series
  3. ground — a position
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pit — in a race
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bound — obliged
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. shower — to wash
  12. row — a line
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. rash — hasty
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. shower — rain
  22. ball — a great time
  23. roll — a list
  24. row — a quarrel

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