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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — for sport
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — low music
  15. net — in sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. net — after costs
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. foot — a measure

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