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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — a series
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. net — after costs
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. cell — a phone
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. foot — a measure
  24. game — a match

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