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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 120 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. stock — goods
  4. file — a tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. scale — size or range
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. staff — employees
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. staff — employees
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. file — a document
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. net — in sport
  18. bore — to tire
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bore — to drill
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. file — a line of people
  24. staff — a stick

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