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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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. sharp — with an edge
  4. drill — army training
  5. club — a group
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. net — in sport
  8. sharp — clever
  9. band — a ring
  10. club — for golf
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wax — to grow
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. net — for catching
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. band — a music group
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. club — for dancing
  21. perch — the fish
  22. drill — the tool
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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