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

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fine — all right
  3. net — in sport
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. fine — high quality
  7. ground — a position
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. ground — the earth
  11. scale — in music
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. ball — a dance
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wake — a trail

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