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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wound — an injury
  4. net — in sport
  5. rush — hurry
  6. net — after costs
  7. bark — to shout
  8. net — for catching
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. key — for a lock
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. roll — a list
  19. mark — a grade
  20. key — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bark — of a tree

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