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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. net — after costs
  3. cell — in biology
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. net — for catching
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. net — in sport
  18. pound — a weight

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