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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rash — hasty
  6. court — of a king
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. net — in sport
  10. court — of law
  11. current — happening now
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. craft — boats
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wake — a trail
  16. current — electric
  17. rash — a series
  18. net — for catching
  19. ball — a great time
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. current — of water
  22. court — for sport
  23. ball — a dance
  24. craft — a skill

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