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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cell — a phone
  5. ball — a great time
  6. net — for catching
  7. game — wild animals
  8. track — a song
  9. ball — a dance
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. press — a publisher
  13. game — a match
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cell — in biology
  19. net — in sport
  20. bore — to drill
  21. press — to push
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. press — newspapers

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