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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. club — a group
  5. ground — a position
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mine — for digging
  11. last — final
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. last — to go on
  19. scale — in music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. rash — a series
  23. last — finally
  24. ball — a dance

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