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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 · mate · cap · foot · net · pitcher · shower · game

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. mate — to breed
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cap — a lid
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. net — for catching
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cap — a hat
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a match
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. shower — rain
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cap — of ice
  18. net — after costs
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mate — a partner
  21. net — in sport
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. mate — a friend

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