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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. season — of the year
  8. stand — to bear
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. net — for catching
  14. kick — in football
  15. net — in sport
  16. season — in sport
  17. rule — government
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rule — a law
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rule — to rule out

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