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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bat — the animal
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. net — in sport
  13. march — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. rock — music
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. march — the month
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rock — a stone

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