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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rash — a series
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. toast — bread
  9. squash — the sport
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rash — hasty
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. chair — a leader
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. squash — to crush
  23. sharp — clever
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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