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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. land — a country
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. net — after costs
  11. land — to come down
  12. bulb — for light
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — ground
  16. pitch — completely
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. branch — a division
  19. net — for catching
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bulb — for light
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pitch — a sports field

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