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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. swing — to play on
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stem — to come from
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wind — moving air
  14. craft — a skill
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. swing — music
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. lean — thin

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