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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. vault — a safe
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wind — moving air
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lean — thin
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. net — for catching
  11. spring — a coil
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. net — in sport
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. prune — to trim
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. spring — of water
  23. prune — to trim
  24. perch — for a bird

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