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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. march — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. scale — size or range
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bulb — for light
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bank — for money
  11. net — in sport
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — a stone
  17. fork — in a road
  18. scale — in music
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. net — for catching
  24. rock — music

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