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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. net — in sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. rule — a law
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — money
  13. net — for catching
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rule — government

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