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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — hasty
  3. roll — a list
  4. firm — a company
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — a trail
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. net — for catching
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. key — for a lock
  17. net — in sport
  18. roll — a cake
  19. key — the most important part
  20. rash — a series
  21. key — in music
  22. chest — a box
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — steady

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