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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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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 · wake · plane · date · net · bore · mine · perch

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bore — to drill
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. net — in sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bore — to tire
  15. band — a music group
  16. net — for catching
  17. plane — a tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. band — a ring
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. perch — the fish

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