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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kid — child
  3. pound — a weight
  4. charge — a price
  5. net — in sport
  6. spring — a coil
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. charge — electricity
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spring — the season
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. charge — in control
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. branch — a division
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rule — a law
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — to tease

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