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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. board — a committee
  3. present — the time now
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bound — certain
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. net — in sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — to cut
  12. board — to get on
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. net — for catching
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chest — a box
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bound — tied together
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bound — obliged

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