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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. spring — a coil
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. net — in sport
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. track — a path
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pit — a hole
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — after costs
  19. pit — in a race
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kid — child

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