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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fall — the season
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. net — for catching
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. land — a country
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — to come down
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — ground
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. net — in sport
  21. hand — help
  22. ground — a position
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mouse — for a computer

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