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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. net — after costs
  3. can — a tin
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. content — happy
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. scale — in music
  8. content — the amount
  9. net — for catching
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. can — to be able to
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. ball — a great time
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. can — a tin
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. court — of 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