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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — in sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. root — of a word
  5. charge — a price
  6. net — after costs
  7. hand — in cards
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. root — of a plant
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. charge — electricity
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. charge — in control
  16. net — for catching
  17. fine — high quality
  18. ball — a dance
  19. fine — all right
  20. root — the cause
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ball — a great time
  24. hand — part of the body

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