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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. shower — to wash
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. deal — to handle
  8. shower — rain
  9. net — for catching
  10. squash — to crush
  11. net — in sport
  12. squash — the sport
  13. last — finally
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. stem — to come from

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