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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chip — for betting
  6. file — a document
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to bend
  9. object — a thing
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. object — an aim
  13. march — the month
  14. chip — to eat
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — music
  17. lean — thin
  18. net — for catching
  19. object — to protest
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. file — a tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. rest — a break

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