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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. net — after costs
  3. key — for a lock
  4. craft — boats
  5. kid — to tease
  6. net — for catching
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cap — a lid
  12. net — in sport
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bass — low music
  19. key — in music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bass — the fish

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