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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. net — in sport
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spell — a short time
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spell — magic
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. spell — letters
  13. net — for catching
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. roll — a list
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. branch — a division
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. branch — of a tree

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