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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — to go on
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pop — to visit
  8. last — finally
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — music
  12. rash — a series
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. ball — a great time
  16. spring — the season
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. rash — hasty
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spring — of water

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