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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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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 · net · file · hide · rash · bowl · pound · jam

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. file — a tool
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. net — for catching
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rash — a series
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. net — in sport
  16. file — a document
  17. court — of a king
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. rash — hasty
  20. court — for sport
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. net — after costs
  24. court — of law

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