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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. file — a document
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. shower — to wash
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bass — low music
  9. net — in sport
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — to come down
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. file — a tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bank — for money
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. net — for catching
  23. bank — for money
  24. fine — all right

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