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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. net — after costs
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mate — a partner
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rest — a break
  8. bass — the fish
  9. key — for a lock
  10. net — in sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mate — a friend
  14. net — for catching
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bass — low music
  18. mate — to breed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — the animal

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