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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 120 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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cold — an illness
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — low music
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bass — the fish
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ball — a great time
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cue — a signal
  21. foot — a measure
  22. net — for catching
  23. cold — not warm
  24. degree — temperature

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