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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. spell — magic
  3. row — a line
  4. shower — rain
  5. net — in sport
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. net — for catching
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. last — final
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spell — a short time
  15. last — finally
  16. mark — a grade
  17. last — to go on
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. hand — in cards
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spell — letters

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