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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rash — hasty
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. court — of a king
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. court — of law
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rash — a series
  14. rock — a stone
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. present — there
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. net — in sport
  22. roll — a list
  23. wake — a trail
  24. roll — a cake

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