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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. last — final
  3. bound — tied together
  4. stock — goods
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bound — certain
  8. stock — shares
  9. bound — obliged
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. net — for catching
  15. last — to go on
  16. club — a group
  17. net — in sport
  18. branch — a division

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