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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. chest — a box
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. suit — in cards
  10. chest — of your body
  11. suit — clothes
  12. bore — to drill
  13. suit — to fit
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. bore — to tire
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chest — of your body
  19. swing — to play on
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. tube — the underground

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