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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. snap — to click
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pop — to visit
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mark — a trace
  10. squash — the sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. face — to confront
  13. pop — music
  14. net — in sport
  15. pop — soda
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ground — the earth
  18. face — to point toward
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. ground — crushed
  24. net — for catching

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