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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 · wind · firm · hand · season · date · dip · mark

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wind — moving air
  5. firm — steady
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. dip — to sink
  9. firm — decided
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mark — a grade
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mark — a trace
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. date — the fruit
  22. ball — a dance
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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