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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: pit · racket · rock · prune · clip · net · tear · fall

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. fall — the season
  3. net — after costs
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fall — to drop
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — for paper
  9. net — for catching
  10. clip — a video
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pit — a hole
  24. net — in sport

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