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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fine — high quality
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — happy
  13. track — a path
  14. fine — all right
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. net — for catching
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. track — a song
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. net — in sport
  24. track — to keep track

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