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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wound — an injury
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ball — a great time
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. field — a subject
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rock — music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. field — for sport
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — in cards
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rock — a stone
  21. prune — to trim
  22. suit — clothes
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — farmland

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