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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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. net — for catching
  4. row — a line
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. hand — in cards
  7. net — in sport
  8. bass — low music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kick — in football
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mug — a cup
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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