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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. net — after costs
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. net — for catching
  8. last — finally
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. field — for sport
  11. club — a group
  12. bark — to shout
  13. last — to go on
  14. club — for golf
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tear — to rip
  17. field — a subject
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fine — all right
  20. club — for dancing
  21. field — farmland
  22. tear — from crying
  23. last — final
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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