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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. net — after costs
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. can — a tin
  5. shower — to wash
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. shower — rain
  8. land — ground
  9. bark — to shout
  10. land — to come down
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rule — government
  13. swing — in golf
  14. can — a tin
  15. swing — music
  16. can — to be able to
  17. dip — to sink
  18. swing — to play on
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. land — a country
  21. net — for catching
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — in sport

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