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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — a subject
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. net — in sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — in sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. club — for dancing
  11. can — a tin
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. club — for golf
  20. hand — help
  21. club — a group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — for catching

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