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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bank — of a river
  5. row — to paddle
  6. court — of a king
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bank — for money
  13. court — of law
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. net — for catching
  16. spring — of water
  17. rush — hurry
  18. row — a line
  19. court — for sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. net — in sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. spring — the season
  24. bank — for money

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