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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cue — for pool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. content — the amount
  9. net — for catching
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cue — a hint
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. content — happy
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wound — an injury
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. cue — a signal
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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