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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. march — the month
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. wind — moving air
  6. toast — bread
  7. hand — help
  8. net — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. march — the month
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rule — government
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. march — music
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. hand — in cards
  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