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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bat — the animal
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — a city
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chip — for betting
  18. capital — money
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. net — in sport
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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