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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. track — to keep track
  6. squash — to crush
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. shower — to wash
  10. net — in sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — rain
  13. chest — of your body
  14. track — a path
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. track — a song
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. squash — the sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. chest — a box
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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