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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. race — the arms race
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. race — humankind
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. net — for catching
  15. spell — magic
  16. tear — from crying
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. race — a contest
  19. tear — from crying
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. plane — a tool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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