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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. last — finally
  9. chest — a box
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lean — to bend
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — thin
  14. net — after costs
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — to shout
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — final
  19. net — for catching
  20. rest — a break
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rest — what's left
  24. lean — to rest against

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