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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. file — a line of people
  3. fall — the season
  4. cap — a hat
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. file — a document
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. fall — to drop
  9. file — a tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rule — a law
  13. net — in sport
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. net — for catching
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. prune — to trim

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