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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. vault — a safe
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. can — a tin
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. can — to be able to
  7. march — the month
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pop — soda
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. can — a tin
  12. pop — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — music
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. pop — to visit
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. net — in sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. net — for catching

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