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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. net — for catching
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. rule — government
  10. rash — a series
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. rule — a law
  13. spring — a coil
  14. net — in sport
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container

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