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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. net — in sport
  3. scale — in music
  4. net — after costs
  5. court — of a king
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. court — of law
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. row — to paddle
  14. court — for sport
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. spell — magic
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. spell — letters
  20. snap — to click
  21. net — for catching
  22. foot — a measure
  23. spell — a short time
  24. scale — size or range

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