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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. craft — boats
  4. cell — in biology
  5. net — after costs
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bank — of a river
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bank — for money
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. degree — temperature
  22. craft — a skill
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. net — for catching

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