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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. charge — a price
  3. mark — a trace
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bank — of a river
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. prune — to trim
  8. shower — to wash
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. shower — rain
  11. field — for sport
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. bank — for money
  15. charge — in control
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bank — for money
  19. prune — to trim
  20. field — a subject
  21. net — for catching
  22. mark — a grade
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. charge — electricity

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