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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. ball — a dance
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. net — for catching
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — a measure
  8. ball — a great time
  9. field — for sport
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. snap — to click
  15. field — farmland
  16. net — after costs
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. ball — a round shape
  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