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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. face — part of the head
  3. capital — money
  4. face — to confront
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kick — in football
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. net — in sport
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bear — the animal
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. capital — a city
  17. fine — all right
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. net — for catching
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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