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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cap — a lid
  3. fork — in a road
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. track — a path
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. track — a song
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cap — of ice
  15. ground — the earth
  16. roll — a cake
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ground — a position
  22. roll — a list
  23. ball — a great time
  24. roll — on a roll

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