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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. ground — a position
  4. net — for catching
  5. rash — a series
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rash — hasty
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kid — to tease
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. net — in sport

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