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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. charge — in control
  4. net — for catching
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pop — to visit
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. court — for sport
  10. charge — a price
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pop — music
  14. can — a tin
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. can — a tin
  17. band — a music group
  18. charge — electricity
  19. net — in sport
  20. pop — soda
  21. band — a ring
  22. wind — moving air
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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