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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pop — soda
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pop — music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pound — a weight
  8. court — of law
  9. ball — a dance
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lie — to recline
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. court — of a king
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pop — to visit
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — an illness
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. court — for sport

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