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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kid — child
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. net — in sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fine — all right
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. stock — shares
  11. fine — high quality
  12. stock — goods
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. court — of a king
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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