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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. net — for catching
  6. stand — to bear
  7. scale — in music
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. present — the time now
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bark — to shout
  13. present — a gift
  14. net — in sport
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cue — for pool
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cue — a signal
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. scale — size or range
  24. present — there

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