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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cue — for pool
  5. spring — the season
  6. cue — a hint
  7. root — of a word
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spring — of water
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. root — the cause
  14. capital — a city
  15. net — for catching
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cue — a signal
  21. tube — a container
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cell — in biology

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