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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bass — low music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. hand — help
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wake — a trail
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. net — for catching
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. game — a match

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