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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — soda
  3. net — in sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pop — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. track — a path
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. branch — a division
  12. march — the month
  13. pop — to visit
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. march — music
  16. net — for catching
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. march — the month
  20. track — a song
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. sharp — clever
  24. track — to keep track

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