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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. prune — to trim
  4. board — to get on
  5. prune — to trim
  6. branch — a division
  7. object — an aim
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wind — moving air
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. board — a committee
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. object — to protest
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. pitch — a sports field

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