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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — a grade
  4. net — for catching
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — child
  7. mark — a trace
  8. kid — to tease
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. net — in sport
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wake — a trail
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — in cards
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. vault — a safe
  24. hand — help

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