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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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. hand — in cards
  4. race — a contest
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. net — for catching
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. race — the arms race
  16. swing — in golf
  17. mark — a trace
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. suit — in cards
  23. suit — to fit
  24. race — humankind

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