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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ball — a great time
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. ball — a dance
  12. rash — hasty
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — rain
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a round shape

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