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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. file — a line of people
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chest — of your body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. ball — a great time
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ball — a dance
  19. net — for catching
  20. chest — a box
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rush — hurry
  24. arm — a part of something

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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