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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. root — the cause
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. clip — to cut
  6. face — to point toward
  7. clip — a video
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. march — the month
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. net — in sport
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. march — music
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. march — the month
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. root — of a word
  22. branch — a division
  23. net — for catching
  24. root — of a plant

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