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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 120 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. fine — high quality
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — clever
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. shower — rain
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. charge — in control
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. shower — to wash
  14. charge — a price
  15. fine — all right
  16. ball — a dance
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. charge — electricity
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. bat — the animal

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