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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. stem — to come from
  4. net — for catching
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. net — in sport
  8. present — there
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — a safe
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. spring — the season
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift

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