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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 120 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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. net — for catching
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. net — in sport
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. mark — a grade
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. current — happening now
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mark — a trace

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