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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fall — to drop
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. fall — to drop
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. face — to confront
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spell — magic
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fall — the season
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. spell — letters

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