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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mate — to breed
  3. scale — size or range
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pop — to visit
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pop — soda
  8. drill — army training
  9. scale — in music
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pop — music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. hand — in cards
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. drill — the tool
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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