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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. can — a tin
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. stock — goods
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. net — for catching
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. branch — a division
  13. stock — shares
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. net — in sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. can — to be able to
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. can — a tin
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. trunk — of a tree

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