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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spell — letters
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for golf
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — in sport
  11. lie — to recline
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. field — for sport
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. net — after costs
  17. snap — to click
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spell — magic
  20. field — a subject
  21. spell — a short time
  22. club — for dancing
  23. net — for catching
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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