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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. firm — a company
  3. key — in music
  4. net — after costs
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. court — of a king
  7. firm — decided
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ground — the earth
  10. net — in sport
  11. firm — steady
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. ground — crushed
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. roll — a list
  16. key — the most important part
  17. roll — a cake
  18. court — of law
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. ground — a position
  23. net — for catching
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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