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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. net — after costs
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. charge — electricity
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. row — to paddle
  8. net — in sport
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. net — for catching
  14. charge — a price
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spell — letters
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. charge — in control
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pit — in a race
  24. spell — magic

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