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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cell — a phone
  5. net — after costs
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fine — all right
  8. chip — to eat
  9. date — the fruit
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — for catching
  14. cell — in biology
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chest — a box
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pound — a weight
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. net — in sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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