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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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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hand — in cards
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. craft — a skill
  8. key — the most important part
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — moving air
  11. craft — boats
  12. hand — help
  13. key — in music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. net — for catching
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. craft — a handicraft

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