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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · fork · game · racket · squash · arm · present · bat

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. present — there
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. present — the time now
  6. game — a match
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — the animal
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. game — wild animals
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. net — in sport
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. present — a gift
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fork — in a road
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. net — for catching
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. squash — to crush

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