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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. net — for catching
  5. rash — hasty
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fine — all right
  8. net — in sport
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rash — a series
  12. craft — boats
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fine — high quality
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. saw — the tool
  24. plane — a tool

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