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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. cell — a phone
  5. net — for catching
  6. cell — in biology
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. net — in sport
  9. club — for golf
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. prune — to trim
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. sharp — clever
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. branch — a division
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hand — in cards
  22. prune — to trim
  23. club — a group
  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