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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. scale — size or range
  5. deal — to handle
  6. rest — what's left
  7. net — for catching
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spell — a short time
  12. face — to point toward
  13. scale — in music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. face — part of the head
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. face — to confront
  19. rest — a break
  20. spell — letters
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — for digging
  23. deal — an agreement
  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