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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. net — for catching
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. net — after costs
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chair — a leader
  17. spell — magic
  18. tube — a container
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. net — in sport
  24. spring — of water

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