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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. net — in sport
  7. wax — to grow
  8. net — after costs
  9. sharp — clever
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. spring — of water
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mark — a trace
  17. net — for catching
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. fine — high quality
  20. mark — a grade
  21. fine — all right
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — exactly

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