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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · pit · ruler · prune · net · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. swing — music
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. net — after costs
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — to rip
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. net — in sport
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. pit — in a race
  12. net — for catching
  13. pit — a hole
  14. swing — to play on
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. swing — in golf
  18. tear — from crying

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