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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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 — after costs
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pit — in a race
  5. march — the month
  6. net — in sport
  7. march — music
  8. pit — a hole
  9. march — the month
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. clip — a video
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. clip — for paper
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — to cut
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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