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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. ball — a dance
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. shower — to wash
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. shower — rain
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ground — a position
  18. net — in sport
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cell — a phone
  22. foot — a measure
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stand — to bear

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