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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bore — to tire
  5. net — in sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. branch — a division
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bear — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bore — to drill
  17. last — final
  18. net — for catching
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  24. last — finally

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