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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mark — a trace
  3. court — of law
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. net — after costs
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. chip — for betting
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. court — for sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rash — a series
  18. snap — to click
  19. rash — hasty
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. court — of a king
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — to pay attention

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