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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. clip — to cut
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. net — in sport
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — in football
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. clip — a video

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