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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pit — in a race
  3. net — for catching
  4. spring — of water
  5. chair — a leader
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — to drop
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. saw — the tool
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. net — in sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — the season
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bass — low music
  24. net — after costs

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