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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. kid — to tease
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. net — after costs
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fine — all right
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kid — child
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. dip — to sink
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chest — a box
  17. track — to keep track
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. track — a path
  23. net — for catching
  24. scale — in music

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