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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — happy
  4. plane — a tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ball — a dance
  9. net — after costs
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. net — for catching
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — the amount
  16. tear — to rip
  17. object — an aim
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. prune — to trim
  20. branch — a division
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. tear — from crying
  24. object — to protest

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