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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — a division
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. last — to go on
  6. net — for catching
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bank — for money
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rest — a break
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. last — finally
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bank — for money
  16. mine — for digging
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bank — of a river
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — in sport
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. last — final
  24. branch — of a bank

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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