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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. row — a line
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a document
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. row — to paddle
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. net — for catching
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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