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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. land — to come down
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. net — after costs
  6. land — a country
  7. pop — music
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. net — in sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. spell — magic
  12. land — ground
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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