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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rest — a break
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kick — in football
  5. tube — a container
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. capital — a city
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rest — what's left
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. spring — of water
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. wake — a trail
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. spring — a coil
  24. capital — 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