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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. present — there
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. net — for catching
  8. spring — of water
  9. net — in sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pit — a hole
  13. saw — the tool
  14. present — the time now
  15. bass — low music
  16. pit — in a race
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. field — for sport
  19. present — a gift
  20. bass — the fish
  21. spring — a coil
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. saw — the tool

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