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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. race — a contest
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stem — to come from
  11. club — for golf
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. race — the arms race
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — an illness
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. staff — a stick
  23. race — humankind
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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