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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. sharp — clever
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spell — a short time
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. net — for catching
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kid — to tease
  14. net — in sport
  15. cell — a phone
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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