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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cue — a hint
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. sharp — clever
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. cue — a signal
  12. ground — a position
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mark — a trace
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. net — in sport
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. court — of a king
  21. ground — the earth
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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