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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rock — music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rock — a stone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. net — after costs
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. net — for catching
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rash — a series
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wind — moving air
  20. date — the fruit
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. net — in sport

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