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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spell — letters
  6. row — to paddle
  7. spell — magic
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. game — a match
  11. row — a line
  12. net — for catching
  13. ball — a great time
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitch — completely
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spell — a short time
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. net — in sport
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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