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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. net — after costs
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. court — for sport
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. court — of law
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. court — of a king
  18. game — wild animals
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. game — a match
  21. net — in sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. rash — hasty

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