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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. net — for catching
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. net — in sport
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spring — of water
  10. hand — help
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bark — to shout
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mark — a trace
  18. rock — music
  19. row — a line
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rock — a stone
  23. net — after costs
  24. mark — a grade

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