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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. net — for catching
  4. file — a tool
  5. net — after costs
  6. firm — a company
  7. net — in sport
  8. cue — a hint
  9. file — a document
  10. last — final
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. firm — decided
  16. cue — for pool
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. last — to go on
  20. file — a line of people
  21. firm — steady
  22. cue — a signal
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. last — finally

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