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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cue — for pool
  3. ball — a dance
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ground — the earth
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pop — soda
  10. cue — a signal
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — the amount
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pop — music
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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