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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chair — a leader
  3. face — to confront
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. root — of a plant
  8. face — to point toward
  9. spell — letters
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — the animal
  20. net — for catching
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. root — the cause
  23. net — in sport
  24. root — of a word

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