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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. board — to get on
  3. bass — the fish
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bore — to drill
  6. shower — rain
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. board — a committee
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. band — a music group
  12. shower — to wash
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rest — what's left
  16. band — a ring
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bass — low music
  23. rest — a break
  24. bat — the animal

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