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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. drill — a practice
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. present — there
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. net — in sport
  16. drill — army training
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. band — a music group
  21. drill — the tool
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a ring
  24. net — for catching

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