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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. drill — the tool
  6. content — the amount
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — a division
  10. bank — of a river
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bank — for money
  13. net — in sport
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. drill — army training
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bank — for money
  18. net — for catching
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — not warm
  21. charge — a price
  22. content — happy
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. charge — in control

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