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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a grade
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — to fit
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a tool
  11. suit — in cards
  12. game — a match
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. file — a document
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. game — wild animals
  23. file — a line of people
  24. net — for catching

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