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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cap — a lid
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. net — for catching
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. net — in sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. date — the fruit
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cap — of ice
  24. date — on the calendar

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