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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cap — of ice
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. kick — in football
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. net — in sport
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rush — hurry
  12. net — for catching
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. file — a document

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