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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — a list
  5. key — the most important part
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. clip — for paper
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — to cut
  10. key — in music
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — in sport
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. net — for catching
  23. key — for a lock
  24. lean — thin

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