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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. net — after costs
  5. march — music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. lean — thin
  8. net — for catching
  9. march — the month
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. degree — an amount
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. net — in sport
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. foot — a measure
  24. degree — temperature

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