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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. swing — in golf
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — to play on
  5. net — for catching
  6. bound — tied together
  7. band — a music group
  8. bound — certain
  9. bark — to shout
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. band — a ring
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. net — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — music
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — obliged
  22. fall — the season
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. tear — to rip

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