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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — in sport
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — certain
  14. rule — government
  15. bound — tied together
  16. club — for golf
  17. bound — obliged
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. club — a group
  21. net — for catching
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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