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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. suit — to fit
  7. suit — in cards
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kick — in football
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. stem — to come from
  18. net — for catching
  19. swing — music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. swing — in golf
  22. shower — rain
  23. suit — clothes
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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