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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. vault — a safe
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. lean — thin
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. staff — employees
  16. net — for catching
  17. fork — in a road
  18. staff — employees
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. staff — a stick
  24. net — in sport

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