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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. bass — low music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. charge — a price
  7. bass — the fish
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cold — an illness
  12. club — a group
  13. net — for catching
  14. charge — in control
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. net — in sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — for golf
  19. cold — not warm
  20. club — for dancing
  21. net — after costs
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  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