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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — for sport
  7. mate — to breed
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. face — part of the head
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. tube — the underground
  14. mate — a friend
  15. date — the fruit
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mate — a partner
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. court — of law
  21. net — in sport
  22. face — to confront
  23. court — of a king
  24. bowl — to roll

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