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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stem — to come from
  3. net — after costs
  4. court — of a king
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mug — a cup
  14. band — a ring
  15. prune — to trim
  16. court — for sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mug — a face
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kick — in football
  23. net — in sport
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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