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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. capital — money
  5. hand — help
  6. ball — a dance
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. branch — a division
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. vault — a safe
  13. capital — a city
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. net — in sport
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. ball — a great time
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ball — a round shape

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