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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. net — for catching
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pound — a weight
  8. net — after costs
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cue — a hint
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. net — in sport
  14. march — the month
  15. cue — a signal
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. cue — for pool
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mine — belonging to me

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