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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. net — after costs
  3. season — of the year
  4. band — a music group
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. net — for catching
  8. bass — the fish
  9. court — of a king
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. present — a gift
  12. court — for sport
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bass — low music
  15. season — in sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. court — of law
  18. band — a ring
  19. present — there
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. present — the time now
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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