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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. net — after costs
  3. land — to come down
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. present — there
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. net — for catching
  12. snap — to click
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. land — ground
  19. prune — to trim
  20. net — in sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — a series

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