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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. game — wild animals
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. court — for sport
  6. game — a match
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of law
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. pit — in a race
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. net — in sport
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wax — to grow
  21. snap — to click
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. court — of a king
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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