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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. net — for catching
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. lean — to bend
  9. board — to get on
  10. field — for sport
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. cap — a lid
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. net — in sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cap — a hat
  19. lean — thin
  20. board — a committee
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — a subject
  23. cap — of ice
  24. field — farmland

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