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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. charge — electricity
  4. band — a music group
  5. prune — to trim
  6. swing — in golf
  7. net — for catching
  8. snap — to click
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. prune — to trim
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. net — after costs
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. bark — of a tree

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