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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 almost out of ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — soda
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pop — music
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. net — in sport
  13. rock — music
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. net — for catching
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fork — a garden tool

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