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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pop — soda
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. file — a document
  11. prune — to trim
  12. net — in sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. net — for catching
  16. file — a tool
  17. pop — music
  18. branch — a division
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. net — after costs
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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