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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wind — moving air
  3. root — the cause
  4. board — a committee
  5. band — a ring
  6. root — of a word
  7. board — to get on
  8. band — a music group
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. land — ground
  15. bulb — for light
  16. land — a country
  17. net — in sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. spell — letters
  20. root — of a plant
  21. spell — magic
  22. bulb — for light
  23. net — for catching
  24. spell — a short time

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