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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. club — for dancing
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. present — there
  8. net — in sport
  9. present — the time now
  10. club — for golf
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. club — a group
  18. wind — moving air
  19. present — a gift
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. net — for catching
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. sharp — exactly

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