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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. net — after costs
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a song
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. net — for catching
  9. game — a match
  10. spell — a short time
  11. game — wild animals
  12. net — in sport
  13. track — to keep track
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — a path
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spell — magic
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — letters
  23. wound — an injury
  24. leaves — lets stay

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