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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: roll · rest · rock · prune · wind · game · net · field

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. field — for sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. roll — a list
  7. rock — music
  8. net — for catching
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. game — a match
  13. wind — moving air
  14. game — wild animals
  15. roll — a cake
  16. field — farmland
  17. net — in sport
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — a subject
  22. rest — a break
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. wind — moving air

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