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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. swing — in golf
  3. net — in sport
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. swing — music
  8. net — for catching
  9. field — farmland
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. field — for sport
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. field — a subject
  18. stock — a soup base

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