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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bound — obliged
  3. march — the month
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bound — tied together
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. net — for catching
  9. bound — certain
  10. net — in sport
  11. tube — the underground
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. snap — to click
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. tube — a container
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. perch — for a bird

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