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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. bound — certain
  4. game — wild animals
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. game — a match
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. hand — help
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rest — a break
  13. net — for catching
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bound — obliged
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — what's left
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bound — tied together

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