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

Word bank: cold · ball · object · rest · mate · foot · wind · cap

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rest — what's left
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rest — a break
  10. cap — a hat
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. ball — a dance
  15. object — an aim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. object — a thing
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. foot — a measure

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