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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hand — help
  3. ground — a position
  4. ball — a great time
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. net — for catching
  10. fine — all right
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. season — of the year
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. net — after costs
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. fine — high quality
  19. net — in sport
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. fine — a penalty

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