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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · game · wind · net · mark · wax · season · root

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. game — wild animals
  3. net — for catching
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. root — of a plant
  6. band — a ring
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. band — a music group
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — to grow
  12. season — of the year
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. root — of a word
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. root — the cause
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — a match
  21. season — in sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. net — in sport
  24. mark — a trace

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