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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. toast — bread
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chest — a box
  13. current — happening now
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. current — electric
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. current — of water
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rush — hurry
  24. toast — the most admired

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