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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — for catching
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ball — a great time
  14. net — in sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ball — a dance
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. cold — an illness

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