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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. land — ground
  3. ground — the earth
  4. band — a ring
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. net — for catching
  7. prune — to trim
  8. land — to come down
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. ground — a position
  13. vault — a safe
  14. ground — crushed
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — to grow
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. land — a country
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. band — a music group
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. net — in sport
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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