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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: net · court · fan · last · mouse · scale · cold · bowl

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. court — of law
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. court — of a king
  20. last — finally
  21. court — for sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cold — an illness

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