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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. root — of a word
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — of a king
  7. track — to keep track
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. root — of a plant
  11. tube — a container
  12. root — the cause
  13. object — a thing
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — to visit
  16. track — a song
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. pop — soda
  21. object — an aim
  22. pop — music
  23. object — to protest
  24. track — a path

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