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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. swing — in golf
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. chest — a box
  6. rock — music
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. net — in sport
  15. swing — music
  16. net — for catching
  17. spring — a coil
  18. file — a document
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. rock — a stone
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. swing — to play on

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