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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. board — a committee
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — after costs
  10. ball — a great time
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. board — to get on
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ball — a dance
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. net — in sport

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