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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. board — to get on
  4. court — of law
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. hand — in cards
  9. board — a committee
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — of a king
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. hand — help
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bark — to shout
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. net — in sport
  24. branch — of a tree

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