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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fork — in a road
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. net — in sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. rest — a break
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. march — music
  11. net — for catching
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. march — the month
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — rain
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. march — the month

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