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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. sharp — clever
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mate — a friend
  8. tear — to rip
  9. can — to be able to
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. deal — to handle
  13. mate — to breed
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. can — a tin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. net — for catching
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. can — a tin
  24. bat — the animal

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