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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rash — hasty
  5. craft — a skill
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. craft — boats
  9. club — for dancing
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. drill — a practice
  12. club — a group
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. club — for golf
  17. rash — a series
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. drill — army training
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chair — to sit on

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