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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. row — a line
  3. can — a tin
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. net — in sport
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. shower — rain
  10. can — a tin
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. row — to paddle
  23. net — for catching
  24. can — to be able to

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