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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. last — finally
  3. wake — a trail
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pop — music
  7. ball — a dance
  8. last — final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. last — to go on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. object — to protest
  20. scale — in music
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pop — to visit

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