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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. drill — a practice
  3. tube — the underground
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. net — for catching
  6. band — a ring
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ball — a dance
  12. rest — a break
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. band — a music group
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. net — in sport
  17. ball — a great time
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. drill — army training
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tube — a container
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tube — in a tire

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