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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 124 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. net — after costs
  3. current — happening now
  4. net — for catching
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. net — in sport
  10. row — a line
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. prune — to trim
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. current — electric
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. row — to paddle
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. current — of water
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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