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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — after costs
  4. band — a ring
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. net — in sport
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. charge — a price
  14. band — a music group
  15. fine — all right
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ball — a dance
  19. charge — in control
  20. net — for catching
  21. ball — a great time
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. fine — high quality
  24. wound — an injury

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