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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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. pit — a fruit stone
  4. net — for catching
  5. march — music
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pit — in a race
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. land — to come down
  11. march — the month
  12. land — ground
  13. march — the month
  14. plane — a tool
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pit — a hole
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. season — of the year
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. land — a country

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