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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. court — for sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. staff — employees
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pound — a weight
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. net — after costs
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. net — in sport
  16. staff — a stick
  17. key — the most important part
  18. staff — employees
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. mine — for digging
  23. key — in music
  24. shower — rain

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