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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. capital — a city
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. spell — letters
  10. net — after costs
  11. capital — money
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rash — a series
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. spell — magic

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