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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. net — in sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — in cards
  14. can — a tin
  15. rash — a series
  16. staff — employees
  17. can — a tin
  18. staff — employees
  19. hand — help
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. shower — rain
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. staff — a stick

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