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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. net — after costs
  3. file — a document
  4. face — part of the head
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. drill — a practice
  7. file — a tool
  8. ball — a dance
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. drill — the tool
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. drill — army training
  19. face — to point toward
  20. net — for catching
  21. face — to confront
  22. net — in sport
  23. bulb — for light
  24. racket — a loud noise

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