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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — clever
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. net — for catching
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. charge — a price
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cap — a hat
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. net — in sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. band — a music group

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