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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. staff — employees
  7. court — of law
  8. staff — a stick
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. staff — employees
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. court — for sport
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wake — a trail
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — for catching
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. straw — a straw man

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