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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. net — in sport
  5. content — happy
  6. club — a group
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. club — for dancing
  11. chair — a leader
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. staff — employees
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — employees
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. net — for catching
  19. club — for golf
  20. staff — a stick
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. shower — rain

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