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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — in sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. net — after costs
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. net — for catching
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rash — hasty
  15. craft — boats
  16. bat — the animal
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. chest — of your body
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chest — a box

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