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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fine — all right
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — to get on
  8. swing — to play on
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. prune — to trim
  11. swing — music
  12. last — final
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. net — in sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — to go on
  17. net — for catching
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. sharp — clever
  20. last — finally
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. swing — in golf
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fine — high quality

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