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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rash — a series
  4. fall — the season
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. spring — of water
  8. bound — certain
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bound — tied together
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spring — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bound — obliged
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. rash — hasty
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mine — for digging

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