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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tear — to rip
  6. ball — a great time
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mug — a cup
  22. tear — from crying
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. march — the month

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