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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — of law
  4. net — for catching
  5. court — of a king
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. net — in sport
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kick — in football
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pit — in a race
  17. band — a music group
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. deal — an agreement

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