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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. net — for catching
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. net — in sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bowl — a football final

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