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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cell — a phone
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. net — after costs
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. net — for catching
  11. court — of law
  12. cell — in biology
  13. court — of a king
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. game — a match
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. game — wild animals
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rock — music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. net — in sport

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