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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — in sport
  3. pop — music
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rash — a series
  7. capital — a city
  8. rash — hasty
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pop — soda
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — to visit
  15. capital — money
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. net — for catching
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. chair — a leader
  24. net — after costs

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