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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rest — a break
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pop — to visit
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. chest — a box
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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