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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. firm — decided
  3. net — in sport
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rule — government
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pit — a hole
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. net — for catching
  13. bark — to shout
  14. firm — steady
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. scale — in music
  18. pit — in a race
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. firm — a company
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rule — a law
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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