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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. net — for catching
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. net — in sport
  10. ground — a position
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ground — the earth

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