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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. net — after costs
  3. file — a tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. file — a document
  6. rest — what's left
  7. branch — a division
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. net — for catching
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rock — music
  16. rock — a stone
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. net — in sport
  20. rest — what's left
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. capital — a city
  24. prune — to trim

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