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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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. chair — to sit on
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — the month
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. march — the month
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mate — a partner
  12. march — music
  13. can — a tin
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. can — a tin
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. net — for catching
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. can — to be able to
  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