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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. file — a tool
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. file — a line of people
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. net — for catching
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. shower — to wash
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a document
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. net — in sport
  22. content — happy
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. branch — a division

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