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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. cold — not warm
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mark — a grade
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. vault — a safe
  21. drill — army training
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mark — a trace
  24. drill — the tool

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