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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 120 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. sharp — clever
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. branch — a division
  6. root — of a word
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. net — after costs
  13. pop — soda
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. root — the cause
  20. pop — music
  21. net — in sport
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pop — to visit

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