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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — to get on
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. last — finally
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. file — a line of people
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. board — a committee
  11. last — final
  12. object — to protest
  13. last — to go on
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bat — the animal
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. net — for catching
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — in sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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