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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. net — in sport
  5. pass — a permit
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. mark — a grade
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. court — of law
  12. spring — of water
  13. court — for sport
  14. band — a ring
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mark — a trace
  18. net — for catching
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. court — of a king
  22. spring — the season
  23. band — a music group
  24. pass — to spend time

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