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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. face — part of the head
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. face — to confront
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. face — to point toward
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stem — to come from
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lie — to recline
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. net — for catching
  22. kid — child
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. branch — a division

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