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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. net — in sport
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rash — a series
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bowl — to roll

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