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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — to come down
  4. net — for catching
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. land — a country
  7. net — in sport
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. date — the fruit
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. land — ground
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. club — for golf
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. club — for dancing
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. club — a group

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