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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lean — thin
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. net — for catching
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bat — the animal
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. net — in sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. lean — to rest against

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