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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 120 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 hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. net — in sport
  2. fine — all right
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fine — high quality
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. pitch — completely
  13. net — after costs
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — for catching
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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