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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 116 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. net — in sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. pit — a hole
  8. drill — the tool
  9. board — a committee
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. net — for catching
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. drill — a practice
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. board — to get on
  17. fork — in a road
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. tube — the underground
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. drill — army training

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