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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 120 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. wake — a trail
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bass — low music
  11. drill — army training
  12. club — a group
  13. spell — letters
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. spell — magic
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. net — for catching
  24. bass — the fish

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