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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: pitcher · court · saw · wound · mine · ball · net · sharp

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. court — of a king
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. sharp — clever
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — of law
  13. saw — the tool
  14. net — after costs
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — in sport
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. saw — the tool
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ball — a dance

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