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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. net — after costs
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — a line
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. net — for catching
  9. key — for a lock
  10. net — in sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. spring — the season
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. key — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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