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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. rush — hurry
  3. ball — a dance
  4. fall — to drop
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — final
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. last — finally
  13. ball — a great time
  14. band — a ring
  15. capital — money
  16. last — to go on
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. band — a music group
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. capital — a city
  24. rush — to hurry

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