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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hand — help
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rock — music
  6. firm — decided
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. ball — a great time
  11. hand — in cards
  12. land — a country
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wake — a trail
  16. land — ground
  17. rock — a stone
  18. club — for golf
  19. cold — an illness
  20. firm — a company
  21. club — a group
  22. land — to come down
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. firm — steady

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