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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — hasty
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. net — in sport
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. net — for catching
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ground — a position
  10. rest — a break
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. branch — a division
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bulb — for light
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bound — certain
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bound — obliged

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