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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. kid — to tease
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. net — after costs
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. object — to protest
  14. ball — a great time
  15. net — for catching
  16. rest — what's left
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. kid — child
  19. pitch — completely
  20. spring — the season
  21. net — in sport
  22. rest — a break
  23. object — an aim
  24. ball — a dance

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