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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cold — not warm
  3. net — for catching
  4. cold — an illness
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. lean — to bend
  8. root — the cause
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. net — in sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. dip — to sink
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lean — thin

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