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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bound — certain
  4. roll — a list
  5. key — for a lock
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. key — in music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. band — a music group
  13. bound — obliged
  14. branch — a division
  15. rash — hasty
  16. key — the most important part
  17. capital — money
  18. rash — a series
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bound — tied together
  24. band — a ring

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