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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 water is too ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — a division
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lean — thin
  7. pass — a permit
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. net — for catching
  10. lean — to bend
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. net — in sport
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. branch — of a tree

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