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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. band — a music group
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. scale — in music
  9. net — in sport
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. press — to push
  19. press — a publisher
  20. net — for catching
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a ring

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