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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. net — after costs
  3. cold — not warm
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — a price
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pound — a weight
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. charge — in control
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. net — in sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. charge — electricity

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