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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. bat — for baseball
  3. net — in sport
  4. track — a song
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pop — to visit
  10. track — a path
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pop — soda
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — the animal
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. net — for catching
  21. rash — hasty
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pop — music
  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