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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bark — to shout
  6. shower — to wash
  7. net — after costs
  8. content — happy
  9. net — for catching
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. content — the amount
  13. row — a line
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. racket — a loud noise

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