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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chest — of your body
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cue — a hint
  5. can — a tin
  6. present — there
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chest — a box
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. present — a gift
  15. can — a tin
  16. net — for catching
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. net — in sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chest — of your body
  24. present — the time now

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