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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mate — a partner
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mate — a friend
  6. field — farmland
  7. bank — of a river
  8. swing — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. swing — in golf
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. field — for sport
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. swing — to play on
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bank — for money
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. net — for catching
  20. staff — employees
  21. net — in sport
  22. mine — for digging
  23. field — a subject
  24. mate — to breed

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