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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mark — a grade
  3. object — a thing
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. race — a contest
  7. root — of a word
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — an aim
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. net — in sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. race — the arms race
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. net — for catching
  20. cold — an illness
  21. race — humankind
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. object — to protest

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