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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — the month
  5. net — in sport
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. march — the month
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bass — the fish
  13. row — a line
  14. can — to be able to
  15. march — music
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bass — low music
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. can — a tin
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. net — for catching
  24. can — a tin

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