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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 124 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. net — after costs
  5. prune — to trim
  6. swing — in golf
  7. craft — a skill
  8. mine — for digging
  9. swing — to play on
  10. craft — boats
  11. stock — goods
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. net — in sport
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hand — help
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tube — the underground
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. prune — to trim
  23. swing — music
  24. stock — shares

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