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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 120 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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. last — finally
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mug — a cup
  8. net — for catching
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — to rob
  12. net — in sport
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. ground — a position
  20. last — final
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. plane — an aircraft

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