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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. last — to go on
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rash — a series
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. last — finally
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. rash — hasty
  14. spell — letters
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chest — a box
  18. stand — to bear
  19. spell — magic
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. spell — a short time
  24. last — final

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