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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. tube — the underground
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. march — music
  7. chest — a box
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pitch — completely
  10. net — for catching
  11. march — the month
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. net — in sport
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. march — the month
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. tube — a container
  20. firm — a company
  21. foot — a measure
  22. chest — of your body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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