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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: ruler · ball · wake · wind · pit · mate · roll · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. roll — a cake
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. roll — a list
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pit — in a race
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pit — a hole
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mate — to breed
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ball — a round shape

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