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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. net — after costs
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. snap — to click
  7. game — a match
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. net — for catching
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pit — a hole
  13. spring — the season
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. rash — hasty
  19. net — in sport
  20. pit — in a race
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chair — a leader

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