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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. net — after costs
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hand — help
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. root — of a plant
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — in sport
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — a match
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. root — the cause
  15. march — music
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. root — of a word
  24. ruler — a monarch

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