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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. net — after costs
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. roll — a list
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. net — for catching
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bulb — for light
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pit — a hole
  14. net — in sport
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bulb — for light
  17. band — a ring
  18. pit — in a race
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. cell — in biology
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. roll — a cake

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