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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. craft — a skill
  3. net — for catching
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lean — thin
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — an illness
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — to wash
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. charge — in control
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. charge — electricity
  19. craft — boats
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. net — in sport
  24. lean — to bend

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