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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — for catching
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pit — in a race
  6. saw — the tool
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rule — government
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. chest — a box
  13. rule — a law
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pit — a hole
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. net — after costs
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. rule — to rule out

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