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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. net — after costs
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. march — music
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cold — not warm
  8. net — in sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — a division
  11. march — the month
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. can — a tin
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. can — a tin
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. content — the amount
  20. net — for catching
  21. chair — a leader
  22. content — happy
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. cold — an illness

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