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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — in cards
  5. deal — to handle
  6. hand — help
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wake — a trail
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bound — tied together
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. vault — a safe
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. key — the most important part
  21. game — a match
  22. net — in sport
  23. bound — certain
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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