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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cue — a hint
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. toast — bread
  17. field — for sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. field — a subject
  20. cue — for pool
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. field — farmland
  23. cue — a signal
  24. mine — belonging to me

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