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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. tear — from crying
  5. net — in sport
  6. key — in music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cell — a phone
  11. net — for catching
  12. face — to confront
  13. hand — help
  14. foot — a measure
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tear — to rip
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mate — to breed

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