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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. degree — from a university
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. snap — to click
  15. march — the month
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. march — music
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ball — a great time

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