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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — for catching
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. content — happy
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pop — to visit
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pop — music
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. net — in sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — the amount
  22. net — after costs
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. pop — soda

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