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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. net — for catching
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. net — in sport
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chest — of your body
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. net — after costs
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bulb — for light
  20. roll — a list
  21. ground — the earth
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bowl — a football final

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