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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mark — a grade
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. saw — the tool
  8. net — for catching
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. land — a country
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. land — ground
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. saw — the tool

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