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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. charge — electricity
  3. root — of a plant
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wound — an injury
  6. charge — in control
  7. root — of a word
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wound — an injury
  10. net — in sport
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. game — wild animals
  15. plane — a tool
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — a match
  18. pop — soda
  19. shower — rain
  20. net — for catching
  21. root — the cause
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. charge — a price
  24. shower — to wash

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