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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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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. net — after costs
  3. kick — in football
  4. field — farmland
  5. fine — high quality
  6. race — the arms race
  7. net — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. field — a subject
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. field — for sport
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. season — of the year
  15. net — for catching
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. season — in sport

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