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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. net — for catching
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — a stone
  9. clip — a video
  10. lean — thin
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lean — to bend
  15. stand — to bear
  16. net — after costs
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. clip — to cut
  22. net — in sport
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. lean — to rest against

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