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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 lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. toast — bread
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. fine — high quality
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fine — all right
  14. chest — of your body
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. net — for catching
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — in sport
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. chest — a box
  24. leaves — 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