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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — completely
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fork — in a road
  12. drill — the tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rush — hurry
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — from a university
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. degree — an amount
  20. prune — to trim
  21. net — for catching
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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