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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. deal — to handle
  5. net — in sport
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. net — for catching
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. row — a line
  16. date — the fruit
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rest — a break
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fork — in a road
  24. deal — an agreement

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