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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 116 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — clothes
  4. stock — goods
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stock — shares
  10. rest — a break
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. object — an aim
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rest — what's left
  16. suit — to fit
  17. object — a thing
  18. net — for catching
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. spell — letters
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. net — in sport
  23. spell — magic
  24. object — to protest

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