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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. net — after costs
  3. club — for golf
  4. game — wild animals
  5. prune — to trim
  6. game — a match
  7. field — farmland
  8. deal — to handle
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. field — for sport
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. field — a subject
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. deal — a big deal

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