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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 124 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. net — after costs
  5. court — of law
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. band — a ring
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. band — a music group

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