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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. net — for catching
  4. pop — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. mark — a grade
  10. content — the amount
  11. mark — a trace
  12. pop — to visit
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. content — happy
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. net — in sport
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pop — soda
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. content — videos and posts

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