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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. ball — a dance
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. spell — letters
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. spell — a short time
  7. net — after costs
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stand — to bear
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spell — magic
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. net — for catching
  15. rule — government
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. net — in sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rule — a law

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