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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wound — an injury
  3. file — a tool
  4. net — after costs
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. net — in sport
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. court — of a king
  14. bass — low music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. court — for sport
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. court — of law
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. ball — a dance
  22. net — for catching
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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