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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ball — a dance
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — a city
  8. march — music
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mate — a partner
  11. capital — money
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ball — a great time
  14. drill — army training
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rash — a series
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. march — the month
  24. fall — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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