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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ball — a great time
  3. fall — the season
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mate — to breed
  10. last — to go on
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — final
  14. key — in music
  15. last — finally
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. court — of law
  18. key — the most important part
  19. court — for sport
  20. key — for a lock
  21. court — of a king
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wax — to grow
  24. ball — a dance

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