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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. net — after costs
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. net — for catching
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a great time
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bank — for money
  9. ground — crushed
  10. hand — in cards
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. hand — help
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bank — for money
  20. net — in sport
  21. ground — a position
  22. bank — of a river
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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