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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. net — for catching
  3. ground — the earth
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — an illness
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ground — a position
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ground — crushed
  15. net — after costs
  16. face — part of the head
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. court — for sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — of law
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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