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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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Word bank
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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: club · squash · net · prune · land · bat · board · toast

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. squash — to crush
  5. club — a group
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. toast — bread
  8. squash — the sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. net — after costs
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. land — to come down
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. club — for dancing
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — ground
  19. club — for golf
  20. board — a committee
  21. land — a country
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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