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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. net — after costs
  3. drill — a practice
  4. branch — a division
  5. mug — a face
  6. last — finally
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — to cut
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mug — a cup
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mug — to rob
  20. last — to go on
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. drill — the tool
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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