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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — a phone
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pass — a permit
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. track — a path
  17. last — finally
  18. can — a tin
  19. track — a song
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. can — to be able to
  22. net — for catching
  23. can — a tin
  24. bark — to shout

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