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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. net — for catching
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. net — after costs
  11. roll — a list
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bound — obliged
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rock — music
  19. game — a match
  20. wound — an injury
  21. roll — a cake
  22. scale — in music
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wound — an injury

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