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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. scale — in music
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stock — goods
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. scale — size or range
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. stock — shares
  18. foot — a measure
  19. hand — help
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. net — for catching
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. scale — for weighing

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