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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pit — in a race
  9. last — finally
  10. lie — to recline
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. shower — rain
  16. last — to go on
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. last — final
  20. pit — a hole
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ball — a round shape

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