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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. net — for catching
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a dance
  9. key — the most important part
  10. kid — child
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. key — for a lock
  15. net — in sport
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. key — in music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rock — a stone
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rock — music
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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