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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stock — goods
  6. ball — a dance
  7. net — for catching
  8. bank — of a river
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bank — for money
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rest — a break
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. bank — for money
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stock — shares

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