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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. march — the month
  8. net — in sport
  9. rash — hasty
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. plane — a tool
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. march — the month
  16. shower — to wash
  17. net — for catching
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. season — of the year
  21. march — music
  22. rash — a series
  23. shower — rain
  24. date — the fruit

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