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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — a series
  3. net — in sport
  4. lean — to bend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — hasty
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. lean — thin
  9. squash — the sport
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. net — for catching
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. content — the amount
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rash — on the skin

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