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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 120 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: board · straw · tear · net · prune · file · fan · pit

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. pit — in a race
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. net — in sport
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. net — after costs
  10. board — to get on
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tear — to rip
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a document
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. net — for catching
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a tool
  23. board — a committee
  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