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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. object — a thing
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. net — in sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — after costs
  14. object — to protest
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bat — the animal
  18. key — the most important part
  19. court — of a king
  20. key — in music
  21. snap — to click
  22. court — of law
  23. key — for a lock
  24. object — an aim

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