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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. race — a contest
  4. pit — a hole
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pit — in a race
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — humankind
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hand — help
  14. net — in sport
  15. race — the arms race
  16. march — the month
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. lie — to recline
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chair — a professorship

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