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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. root — the cause
  3. bound — tied together
  4. swing — in golf
  5. prune — to trim
  6. root — of a word
  7. chest — a box
  8. bound — obliged
  9. swing — music
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. bound — certain
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chair — a leader
  19. swing — to play on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. net — for catching
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. net — in sport
  24. root — of a plant

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