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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stock — shares
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — to keep track
  7. board — to get on
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stock — goods
  12. track — a song
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. board — a committee
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. track — a path
  22. net — for catching
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bat — the animal

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