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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · bowl · cold · drill · chest · suit · squash · ball

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. suit — in cards
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. suit — clothes
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. suit — to fit
  13. drill — army training
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. cold — not warm
  19. drill — a practice
  20. squash — to crush
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — an illness
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bowl — a dish

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