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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rest — what's left
  3. net — in sport
  4. court — of law
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bank — of a river
  7. club — for golf
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bank — for money
  10. club — for dancing
  11. court — of a king
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rest — a break
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. club — a group
  17. mark — a grade
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. net — for catching
  22. bank — for money
  23. court — for sport
  24. rest — what's left

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