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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. net — in sport
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. swing — music
  11. net — after costs
  12. swing — in golf
  13. court — of a king
  14. rash — hasty
  15. toast — bread
  16. court — of law
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rash — a series
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — for catching
  21. swing — to play on
  22. date — the fruit
  23. court — for sport
  24. shower — rain

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