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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. pitch — completely
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mate — a friend
  6. net — for catching
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. net — in sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. court — for sport
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. court — of law
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. net — after costs
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mate — to breed
  21. game — a match
  22. mate — a partner
  23. court — of a king
  24. bowl — a dish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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