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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. court — of law
  9. game — a match
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mark — a grade
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. court — of a king
  15. game — wild animals
  16. tube — a container
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. club — for dancing
  20. net — after costs
  21. dip — to sink
  22. court — for sport
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. net — in sport

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