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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. season — of the year
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pound — a weight
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. season — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. net — for catching
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. club — a group
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. club — for dancing
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. club — for golf
  24. wind — moving air

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