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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · land · sharp · scale · mug · net · bay · cold

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. land — a country
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. net — for catching
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mug — a face
  11. land — to come down
  12. net — after costs
  13. ball — a great time
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. mug — a cup
  17. net — in sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mug — to rob
  23. land — ground
  24. scale — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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