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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. ball — a dance
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. fine — all right
  8. net — in sport
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. band — a ring
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. fine — high quality
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lean — thin
  18. net — for catching
  19. band — a music group
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pitch — completely

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