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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. hand — in cards
  5. current — happening now
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. hand — help
  10. tube — the underground
  11. face — to point toward
  12. current — of water
  13. net — in sport
  14. tube — a container
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. face — to confront
  19. net — for catching
  20. face — part of the head
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. current — electric
  24. sharp — clever

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