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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. game — a match
  4. rash — hasty
  5. net — after costs
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bass — the fish
  8. court — of a king
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rash — a series
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bass — low music
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. court — for sport
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bear — the animal
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. court — of law
  23. game — wild animals
  24. nail — for a hammer

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