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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. kid — child
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. kid — to tease
  8. suit — in cards
  9. race — humankind
  10. row — to paddle
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. net — for catching
  13. suit — clothes
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. saw — the tool
  17. suit — to fit
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. race — a contest
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. saw — the tool
  24. race — the arms race

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