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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. craft — a skill
  3. net — in sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. craft — boats
  6. cap — a lid
  7. kick — in football
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cap — of ice
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. net — for catching
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cap — a hat

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