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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a line
  4. craft — boats
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. spring — a coil
  7. prune — to trim
  8. net — in sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. clip — a video
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. clip — to cut
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. net — for catching
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pass — a permit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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