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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. suit — clothes
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — of water
  5. net — in sport
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a ring
  9. spring — the season
  10. net — for catching
  11. cold — not warm
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bass — low music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. foot — a measure
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — in cards
  21. kick — in football
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. band — a music group
  24. kick — with a leg

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