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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. net — after costs
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. chest — a box
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pit — a hole
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. dip — to sink
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rest — a break
  21. branch — a division
  22. net — for catching
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pit — in a race

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