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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 116 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: court · spell · bat · net · deal · firm · mark · rest

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. firm — steady
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — of law
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mark — a trace
  10. spell — a short time
  11. court — of a king
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bat — the animal
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rest — what's left
  20. court — for sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. rest — a break
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mark — a grade

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