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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. fork — in a road
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. net — in sport
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. plane — a tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — the tool
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. land — to come down
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. saw — the tool

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