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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pound — a weight
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. net — after costs
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stock — a soup base

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