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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. court — of a king
  3. rest — a break
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. net — after costs
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. net — in sport
  9. court — of law
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rest — what's left
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a match
  18. rest — what's left
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. court — for sport

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