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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — a division
  3. drill — the tool
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. game — wild animals
  10. drill — a practice
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. ground — a position
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. game — a match
  18. kick — in football
  19. drill — army training
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spell — a short time
  22. net — for catching
  23. ground — crushed
  24. branch — of a bank

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