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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — size or range
  4. net — after costs
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. band — a ring
  8. board — to get on
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. season — in sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. scale — in music
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. board — a committee
  19. spell — a short time
  20. band — a music group
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. net — in sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. band — a rubber band

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