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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — child
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. net — for catching
  11. kid — to tease
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. board — a committee
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. net — in sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lie — to recline
  20. suit — in cards
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

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