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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. net — after costs
  4. hand — help
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. branch — a division
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. stock — goods
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stock — shares
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. net — for catching

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