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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pit — a hole
  4. board — a committee
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spell — letters
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. spell — a short time
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. spell — magic
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — in sport
  19. rest — a break
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. board — to get on
  22. net — for catching
  23. pit — in a race
  24. chest — a box

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