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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. net — after costs
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. net — for catching
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bass — the fish
  17. net — in sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wound — an injury

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