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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 116 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ground — crushed
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — the earth
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitch — completely
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. scale — in music
  15. ground — a position
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. net — for catching
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. net — in sport

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