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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. net — for catching
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — in sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. chest — a box
  19. wake — a trail
  20. net — after costs
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. prune — the fruit

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