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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. spring — of water
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bass — low music
  6. net — for catching
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. net — in sport
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wax — to grow
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spring — the season
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. branch — a division
  24. spring — a coil

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