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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. present — a gift
  3. file — a tool
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. club — for golf
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — there
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. net — for catching
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. net — in sport
  13. toast — bread
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bore — to drill
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. bore — to tire
  19. club — a group
  20. file — a document
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. file — a line of people
  23. present — the time now
  24. pitcher — a jug

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