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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 120 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. charge — electricity
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cap — a hat
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cap — a lid
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. charge — in control
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — to crush
  16. swing — to play on
  17. charge — a price
  18. swing — music
  19. cap — of ice
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. net — for catching
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — in golf

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