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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.

Make a worksheet

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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. court — for sport
  4. dip — to sink
  5. court — of law
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. march — the month
  8. court — of a king
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. march — the month
  13. ball — a great time
  14. net — in sport
  15. march — music
  16. ball — a dance
  17. net — for catching
  18. 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