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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 124 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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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. ball — a round shape
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — high quality
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. sharp — clever
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. season — in sport
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wax — to grow
  16. row — a line
  17. fine — all right
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. capital — a city
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. season — of the year
  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