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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. net — after costs
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. object — an aim
  8. plane — a tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. present — there
  13. wound — an injury
  14. object — a thing
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. object — to protest
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. present — the time now
  19. rule — government
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. plane — an aircraft

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