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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. game — a match
  6. net — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chest — a box
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. track — to keep track
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. track — a path
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cue — a signal
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cue — for pool
  20. track — a song
  21. chest — of your body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. net — for catching
  24. chest — of your body

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