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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. board — a committee
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. roll — a list
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kid — child
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. net — after costs
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kid — to tease
  16. board — to get on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. mouse — the animal

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