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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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. deal — an agreement
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. net — in sport
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. staff — employees
  11. net — for catching
  12. staff — employees
  13. game — a match
  14. kid — child
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. staff — a stick
  20. plane — a tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fork — to eat with

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