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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: game · cell · wound · last · bear · net · jam · rush

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cell — in biology
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. game — a match
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. last — to go on
  17. net — in sport
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. net — for catching
  24. game — a kind of play

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