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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — in sport
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pound — a weight
  10. roll — a cake
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. net — for catching
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. roll — a list
  16. net — after costs
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. prune — to trim
  19. board — to get on
  20. craft — boats
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. craft — a handicraft

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