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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — after costs
  4. swing — in golf
  5. board — to get on
  6. net — in sport
  7. board — a committee
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. net — for catching
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mate — a partner
  13. chest — a box
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. swing — music
  16. branch — a division
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — of your body
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. swing — to play on
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. chest — of your body

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