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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pit — a hole
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pit — in a race
  7. plane — a tool
  8. land — a country
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — moving air
  11. land — ground
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — the animal
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. land — to come down

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