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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. club — for golf
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. foot — a measure
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pitch — completely
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. club — a group
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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