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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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. spell — a short time
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. net — for catching
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bear — the animal
  12. object — an aim
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. net — in sport
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spell — letters
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. spell — magic
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ball — a round shape

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