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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — after costs
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. face — part of the head
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cold — an illness
  9. net — in sport
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. club — for golf
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. net — for catching
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. snap — to click
  18. plane — a tool
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. club — a group
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. plane — an aircraft

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