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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. net — in sport
  4. rock — music
  5. net — for catching
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a match
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rock — a stone
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. dip — to sink
  21. staff — employees
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. game — wild animals
  24. dip — to dunk

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