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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. staff — a stick
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cell — a phone
  5. branch — a division
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cue — a hint
  9. last — final
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cue — for pool
  19. net — for catching
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. net — in sport
  23. fine — all right
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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