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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a dance
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. current — electric
  5. track — a path
  6. current — happening now
  7. ball — a great time
  8. track — a song
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. march — music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. last — final
  14. current — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. dip — to sink
  18. last — finally
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. last — to go on
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. hand — in cards
  24. track — to keep track

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