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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. hand — in cards
  3. staff — a stick
  4. ball — a great time
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. land — a country
  10. hand — help
  11. mate — a friend
  12. staff — employees
  13. land — to come down
  14. rest — a break
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. ball — a dance
  19. staff — employees
  20. rush — hurry
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rush — a thrill

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