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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. plane — a tool
  3. spell — magic
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. net — for catching
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. ground — a position
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. ground — crushed
  11. game — wild animals
  12. net — in sport
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. ground — the earth
  15. content — the amount
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. spell — a short time
  21. game — a match
  22. wake — a trail
  23. content — happy
  24. spell — letters

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