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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — a leader
  4. track — a path
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bulb — for light
  8. net — for catching
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ball — a great time
  13. track — to keep track
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rash — hasty
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. track — a song
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rash — a series

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