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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. craft — boats
  3. net — for catching
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. craft — a skill
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wake — a trail
  23. net — in sport
  24. trunk — of a car

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