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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. net — in sport
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. last — to go on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bark — to shout
  9. net — after costs
  10. last — finally
  11. spring — the season
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. chest — a box
  14. stand — to bear
  15. kick — in football
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. last — final
  20. spring — of water
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — for catching
  24. chest — of your body

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