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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — after costs
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. firm — steady
  6. staff — employees
  7. scale — size or range
  8. staff — a stick
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. scale — in music
  11. staff — employees
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. net — for catching
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. sharp — with an edge

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