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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 116 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. present — a gift
  7. hand — help
  8. season — of the year
  9. net — in sport
  10. present — there
  11. rule — government
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. present — the time now
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. rule — a law
  21. net — for catching
  22. hand — in cards
  23. season — in sport
  24. spell — a short time

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