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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. deal — to handle
  4. kick — in football
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. prune — to trim
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. game — a match
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. stock — goods
  13. chair — a leader
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. game — wild animals
  19. net — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. net — for catching
  22. stock — shares
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. prune — the fruit

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