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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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 — in sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. net — after costs
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. capital — a city
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. game — a match
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — electricity
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. game — wild animals
  15. capital — money
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. charge — in control
  20. chair — a leader
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. net — for catching
  23. game — a kind of play
  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