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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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. net — after costs
  3. plane — a tool
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. game — wild animals
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pound — a weight
  12. net — for catching
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bark — to shout
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. game — a match
  19. key — the most important part
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cap — a hat
  22. net — in sport
  23. cap — of ice
  24. racket — for tennis

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