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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. court — of law
  4. net — in sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. court — of a king
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. net — for catching
  13. object — to protest
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. object — an aim
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. object — a thing
  21. court — for sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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