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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. net — for catching
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. file — a document
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bark — to shout
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. file — a tool

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