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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 116 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: wound · spell · cabinet · march · present · face · object · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. face — part of the head
  3. spell — a short time
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. object — a thing
  8. wound — an injury
  9. object — to protest
  10. spell — letters
  11. march — music
  12. object — an aim
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. present — a gift
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. net — for catching
  17. face — to point toward
  18. net — in sport
  19. face — to confront
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. present — the time now
  22. spell — magic
  23. present — there
  24. march — the month

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