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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. root — of a word
  4. lean — thin
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. root — the cause
  8. pit — in a race
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. net — for catching
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pit — a hole
  15. prune — to trim
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. root — of a plant

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