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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. last — to go on
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ball — a great time
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — to shout
  20. squash — the sport
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cold — an illness

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