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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — for catching
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. band — a ring
  8. tube — the underground
  9. net — after costs
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — in sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. sharp — with an edge

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