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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spring — the season
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rest — a break
  11. pound — a weight
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spring — of water
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. degree — from a university
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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