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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. net — in sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. craft — a skill
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. court — for sport
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. craft — boats
  11. court — of law
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. deal — to handle
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wake — a trail
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — a leader
  20. capital — a city
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. net — after costs
  24. deal — an agreement

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