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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. shower — to wash
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. mate — a partner
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pound — a weight
  8. net — after costs
  9. cap — of ice
  10. land — a country
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. cap — a hat
  18. land — to come down
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mate — to breed
  22. land — ground
  23. net — in sport
  24. cap — a lid

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