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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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tear — from crying
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — a grade
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — from crying
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. tear — to rip
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. net — after costs
  18. row — a line
  19. net — in sport
  20. mark — a trace
  21. row — to paddle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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