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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bark — to shout
  5. drill — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. net — for catching
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bound — tied together
  14. chest — a box
  15. bound — obliged
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bound — certain
  18. drill — a practice
  19. saw — the tool
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chest — of your body
  24. deal — a big deal

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