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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cue — for pool
  4. key — the most important part
  5. net — for catching
  6. ball — a dance
  7. clip — a video
  8. rash — a series
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. net — after costs
  12. pop — to visit
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — a hint
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. key — in music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rash — hasty
  24. net — in 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