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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. net — for catching
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. march — the month
  7. root — of a plant
  8. content — happy
  9. net — in sport
  10. root — the cause
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. scale — in music
  15. pass — a permit
  16. march — the month
  17. content — the amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. march — music
  20. root — of a word
  21. clip — to cut
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. scale — size or range
  24. clip — for paper

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