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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: fan · rash · fall · pit · prune · net · nail · mug

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rash — hasty
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. net — in sport
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. mug — a cup
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. rash — a series
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — to trim
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. mug — a face
  22. fall — the season
  23. net — for catching
  24. prune — to trim

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