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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fall — the season
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fall — to drop
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bore — to tire
  22. kid — child
  23. net — for catching
  24. prune — to trim

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