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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. net — after costs
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — to rob
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. pop — music
  13. toast — bread
  14. wound — an injury
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. net — in sport
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. game — a match
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bank — for money
  22. mug — a face
  23. net — for catching
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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