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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — to visit
  5. capital — money
  6. pop — music
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pop — soda
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ball — a dance
  12. club — for golf
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. club — a group
  16. chest — a box
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. capital — a city
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — rain
  24. cabinet — ministers

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