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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 116 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rest — a break
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. board — a committee
  6. net — for catching
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. rest — what's left
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. net — after costs
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — a position
  14. rest — what's left
  15. march — music
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. net — in sport
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. board — to get on

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