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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. can — a tin
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rest — a break
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. net — after costs
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lean — thin
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. cap — a lid
  16. kid — child
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. kid — to tease
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cap — a hat
  23. can — a tin
  24. bark — to shout

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