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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. squash — to crush
  4. band — a ring
  5. march — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. capital — money
  11. net — for catching
  12. content — happy
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. content — the amount
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. squash — the sport
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a music group
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. net — in sport
  22. pound — a weight
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. squash — the vegetable

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