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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. club — for dancing
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. shower — rain
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — to wash
  13. present — a gift
  14. chest — of your body
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rush — hurry
  21. ball — a great time
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  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