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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. field — a subject
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. net — for catching
  8. key — the most important part
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. net — in sport
  12. spring — the season
  13. field — farmland
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. spring — of water
  16. chair — a leader
  17. key — in music
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. field — for sport
  23. pass — a permit
  24. chair — a professorship

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