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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. rash — hasty
  3. net — after costs
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. net — in sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. bore — to drill
  18. capital — money
  19. ball — a great time
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. net — for catching
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rash — a series

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