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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: bear · ball · shower · root · coach · net · bound · wake

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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. bound — certain
  4. root — of a plant
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ball — a dance
  7. net — for catching
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. ball — a great time
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. root — the cause
  19. bound — obliged
  20. root — of a word
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — rain
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. ball — a round shape

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