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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bark — to shout
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. net — after costs
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. lie — to recline
  20. toast — bread
  21. net — for catching
  22. chip — for betting
  23. net — in sport
  24. wake — a trail

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