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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spring — of water
  5. net — in sport
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. content — the amount
  8. object — a thing
  9. content — happy
  10. object — an aim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rash — a series
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — for catching
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. object — to protest
  24. pound — a weight

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