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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. key — the most important part
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. ground — a position
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a document
  15. staff — a stick
  16. key — in music
  17. net — in sport
  18. key — for a lock
  19. staff — employees
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. staff — employees
  22. pound — a weight
  23. net — for catching
  24. march — the month

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