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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — a series
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. saw — the tool
  7. face — to confront
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — of a word
  13. cold — not warm
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. root — of a plant
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ball — a dance
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. root — the cause

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