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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. net — after costs
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. key — the most important part
  7. field — for sport
  8. key — for a lock
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. net — for catching
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — in sport
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cue — a hint
  18. kid — child
  19. present — a gift
  20. kid — to tease
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cue — for pool
  24. field — a subject

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