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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. net — after costs
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rash — a series
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bass — low music
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. net — in sport
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. band — a music group
  17. pass — a permit
  18. band — a ring
  19. net — for catching
  20. bass — the fish
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. band — a rubber band

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