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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. ball — a great time
  4. swing — in golf
  5. hand — help
  6. land — ground
  7. can — a tin
  8. net — in sport
  9. mark — a trace
  10. can — a tin
  11. land — a country
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hand — in cards
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. swing — music
  18. mark — a grade
  19. can — to be able to
  20. ball — a dance
  21. net — after costs
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. net — for catching
  24. land — to come down

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