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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rock — music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a line
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. net — for catching
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. net — after costs
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. ball — a round shape

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