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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 120 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. net — after costs
  4. lean — thin
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — to bend
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. net — in sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. hand — help
  14. scale — size or range
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cabinet — ministers

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