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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — shares
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rule — government
  12. cap — a hat
  13. net — for catching
  14. bank — for money
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bank — of a river
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rule — a law
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. net — in sport
  24. stock — goods

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