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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. suit — in cards
  3. net — after costs
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pop — soda
  7. court — of law
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. court — for sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. suit — to fit
  13. pop — to visit
  14. net — in sport
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. suit — clothes
  17. net — for catching
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pop — music
  23. court — of a king
  24. fan — a supporter

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