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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. snap — to click
  3. ball — a great time
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. file — a document
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. net — for catching
  10. key — the most important part
  11. file — a tool
  12. club — for dancing
  13. chest — of your body
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. club — a group
  16. ball — a dance
  17. key — in music
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. key — for a lock
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fine — a penalty

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