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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. net — for catching
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rule — a law
  10. degree — from a university
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. degree — an amount
  16. snap — to click
  17. net — in sport
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. tube — a container

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