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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ball — a dance
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. rush — hurry
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. cold — not warm
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. net — in sport

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