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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. net — in sport
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. toast — bread
  20. vault — a safe
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. shower — rain
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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