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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. cue — a hint
  5. net — in sport
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a match
  10. staff — a stick
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. staff — employees
  15. net — for catching
  16. content — the amount
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. march — music
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cue — a signal
  24. content — happy

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