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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bass — low music
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. object — an aim
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — not warm
  8. object — to protest
  9. shower — to wash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — an illness
  14. net — for catching
  15. shower — rain
  16. bass — the fish
  17. net — in sport
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. stand — to bear
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. branch — a division
  24. cold — the Cold War

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