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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bark — to shout
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. net — after costs
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. net — in sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. degree — from a university
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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