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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to click
  3. club — a group
  4. pit — a hole
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mine — for digging
  8. club — for golf
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. net — in sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wind — moving air
  14. can — a tin
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — for dancing
  20. net — for catching
  21. can — to be able to
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. can — a tin
  24. wind — to turn a key

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