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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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 great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. net — after costs
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wound — an injury
  9. squash — the sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. face — part of the head
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. rush — hurry
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stock — goods
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bear — the animal
  23. face — to confront
  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