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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cap — of ice
  3. land — to come down
  4. chip — to eat
  5. spring — the season
  6. shower — rain
  7. present — a gift
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. present — the time now
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cap — a lid
  14. last — finally
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — final
  17. ball — a great time
  18. spring — a coil
  19. land — a country
  20. present — there
  21. last — to go on
  22. land — ground
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cap — a hat

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