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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He took the fish out of 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. wind — to turn a key
  2. prune — to trim
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. swing — in golf
  6. dip — to sink
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cap — of ice
  9. date — the fruit
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. row — a line
  12. wind — moving air
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — to trim
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. net — after costs
  20. swing — music
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cap — a hat
  23. net — for catching
  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