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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. march — music
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ground — a position
  5. drill — army training
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. march — the month
  8. ground — the earth
  9. march — the month
  10. sharp — clever
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. net — for catching
  14. rash — hasty
  15. net — in sport
  16. ground — crushed
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kick — in football
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rash — a series

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