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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. net — after costs
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. file — a tool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — a division
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — in music
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. net — in sport
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. file — a document
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. snap — to click
  24. net — for catching

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