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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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 great time
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. row — a line
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. row — to paddle
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ball — a dance
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. capital — a city
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — money
  22. scale — in music
  23. cell — a phone
  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