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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — in sport
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. branch — a division
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. charge — electricity
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a document
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. net — for catching
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. season — of the year
  21. charge — a price
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. charge — in control

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