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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. spring — the season
  4. ball — a dance
  5. present — a gift
  6. bore — to tire
  7. ball — a great time
  8. net — after costs
  9. spring — a coil
  10. present — there
  11. ground — crushed
  12. clip — to cut
  13. spring — of water
  14. net — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. present — the time now
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bore — to drill

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