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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bark — to shout
  11. kick — in football
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. net — in sport
  14. tube — the underground
  15. band — a ring
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. kid — child
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. band — a music group
  24. net — for catching

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