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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. net — after costs
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tear — to rip
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. present — there
  8. object — to protest
  9. present — a gift
  10. object — an aim
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. object — a thing
  13. net — in sport
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. band — a music group
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — a series
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a ring
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. net — for catching
  24. present — the time now

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