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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — hasty
  5. firm — a company
  6. net — for catching
  7. firm — steady
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. field — a subject
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. field — for sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. firm — decided
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. net — in sport

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