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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. roll — a cake
  3. root — of a plant
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. roll — a list
  7. game — a match
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. game — wild animals
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. key — for a lock
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bank — for money
  17. key — in music
  18. pass — a permit
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bank — of a river
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bank — for money

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