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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. file — a document
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. net — after costs
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. file — a line of people
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — a grade
  16. land — a country
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. temple — a place of worship

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