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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ball — a dance
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. content — the amount
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. net — after costs
  19. hand — help
  20. content — happy
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cold — the Cold War

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