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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bound — certain
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — a company
  9. net — for catching
  10. firm — steady
  11. net — in sport
  12. march — music
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. root — the cause
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. march — the month
  19. root — of a word
  20. bound — tied together
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bound — obliged
  24. march — the month

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