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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. net — after costs
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — of law
  7. wound — an injury
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cell — in biology
  11. key — in music
  12. cell — a phone
  13. key — for a lock
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. net — in sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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