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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. pop — to visit
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. field — farmland
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. net — for catching
  19. pop — soda
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. root — of a word
  22. pop — music
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mine — an explosive

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