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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. game — wild animals
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. game — a match
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pit — a hole
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — a break
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. capital — money
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bat — the animal
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. sharp — with an edge

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