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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. last — final
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rest — a break
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — finally
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. net — in sport
  10. ground — a position
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. season — in sport
  18. ground — the earth
  19. net — for catching
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. prune — the fruit

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