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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. spell — letters
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. net — after costs
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chest — a box
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. toast — bread
  11. scale — in music
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. net — for catching
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. spell — magic
  18. scale — size or range
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rock — a stone
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rock — music
  24. net — in sport

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