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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pass — a permit
  3. net — in sport
  4. lean — to bend
  5. stock — shares
  6. scale — in music
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. lean — thin
  13. branch — a division
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. net — for catching
  17. scale — size or range
  18. branch — of a bank

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