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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. net — in sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wound — an injury
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree

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