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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. ball — a great time
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. shower — rain
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. last — final
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. last — finally
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. scale — in music
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. shower — to wash
  24. scale — for weighing

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