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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. current — of water
  13. net — after costs
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. current — electric
  23. pitch — completely
  24. current — happening now

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