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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ball — a great time
  4. last — final
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pop — soda
  9. shower — to wash
  10. last — finally
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. spell — letters
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. last — to go on
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. wound — an injury
  21. shower — rain
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spell — magic
  24. racket — for tennis

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