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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mate — to breed
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. scale — in music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cap — of ice
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. last — final
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. game — a match
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. game — wild animals

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