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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. net — in sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. dip — to sink
  7. root — the cause
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — soda
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. root — of a word
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pop — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fork — in a road
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. net — for catching
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. root — of a plant

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