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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — electricity
  7. track — a song
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — magic
  12. charge — a price
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rock — a stone
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. branch — a division
  19. track — to keep track
  20. spell — a short time
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. track — a path
  23. field — for sport
  24. rock — music

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