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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 120 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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. net — in sport
  3. scale — size or range
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — for catching
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ball — a great time
  15. lean — thin
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. scale — in music
  19. bass — low music
  20. net — after costs
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. lean — to bend
  24. shower — to wash

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