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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. present — a gift
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mate — to breed
  6. land — ground
  7. present — the time now
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mate — a friend
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. snap — to click
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. mate — a partner
  20. net — for catching
  21. land — a country
  22. present — there
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. chip — for betting

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