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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. net — after costs
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. game — a match
  15. net — for catching
  16. tube — a container
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. net — in sport
  23. cold — an illness
  24. perch — for a bird

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