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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mate — a partner
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. object — a thing
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — not warm
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mate — to breed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ball — a dance
  13. object — an aim
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. object — to protest
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — an illness
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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