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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. net — in sport
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — thin
  6. row — to paddle
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. board — to get on
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bear — the animal
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. row — a line
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bear — the animal
  21. key — in music
  22. net — for catching
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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