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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 124 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. pass — a permit
  6. field — for sport
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — for catching
  9. kid — to tease
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. field — a subject
  12. kid — child
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. field — farmland
  18. pass — to spend time

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