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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chest — a box
  3. present — there
  4. net — after costs
  5. stock — shares
  6. wake — a trail
  7. swing — music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. land — ground
  10. present — a gift
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. land — a country
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. net — in sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. squash — the sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. chest — of your body
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. present — the time now
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. land — to come down

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