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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cell — in biology
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. net — for catching
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bore — to tire
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bat — the animal
  19. capital — money
  20. net — in sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. scale — size or range
  23. capital — a city
  24. kick — in football

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