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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — after costs
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bank — for money
  6. squash — to crush
  7. face — to confront
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. face — part of the head
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. face — to point toward
  15. net — in sport
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bank — for money
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. court — of law
  22. chip — for betting
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bank — of a river

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