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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. plane — a tool
  4. land — a country
  5. fine — all right
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. land — to come down
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. land — ground
  13. branch — a division
  14. net — in sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. net — for catching
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitch — completely
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cabinet — ministers

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