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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 do you think of the new ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. net — after costs
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. sharp — clever
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. row — a line
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. ground — a position

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