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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 116 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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. race — humankind
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — for digging
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. net — for catching
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — the animal
  18. net — in sport
  19. pass — a permit
  20. present — there
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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