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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. net — in sport
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. race — a contest
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mark — a trace
  9. net — for catching
  10. chest — a box
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bark — to shout
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rule — a law
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. chest — of your body
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mark — a grade
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. race — humankind
  24. rule — government

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