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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: ball · rock · cap · nail · last · sharp · cold · spell

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — an illness
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. spell — letters
  5. cap — a hat
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — magic
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spell — a short time
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. rock — music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ball — a great time
  18. last — to go on
  19. cap — a lid
  20. last — final
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — clever

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