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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. net — after costs
  3. face — part of the head
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. file — a document
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. present — there
  10. bark — to shout
  11. march — music
  12. face — to point toward
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. net — in sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kick — in football
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to confront
  21. file — a tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. net — for catching

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