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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. field — a subject
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pop — music
  7. firm — steady
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. firm — a company
  14. wax — to grow
  15. net — in sport
  16. firm — decided
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. field — for sport
  20. pop — soda
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. hand — help
  23. staff — employees
  24. field — farmland

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