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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. row — a line
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lean — thin
  14. row — to paddle
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chip — to eat
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. arm — part of the body

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