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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spell — letters
  4. drill — army training
  5. bank — for money
  6. net — for catching
  7. bank — of a river
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bank — for money
  12. net — after costs
  13. bass — low music
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — magic
  17. cold — an illness
  18. drill — the tool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. ruler — for measuring

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