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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. roll — a list
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — hurry
  9. net — in sport
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. tear — to rip
  12. net — for catching
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. date — the fruit
  15. root — the cause
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a cake
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. root — of a word
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. root — of a plant

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