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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lean — thin
  5. dip — to sink
  6. pop — to visit
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. craft — a skill
  9. net — after costs
  10. cap — a hat
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cap — of ice
  13. net — for catching
  14. craft — boats
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pop — soda
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pop — music
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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