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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. cap — of ice
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rock — a stone
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stem — to come from
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cap — a hat

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