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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pass — a permit
  8. roll — a list
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. fall — the season
  16. bark — to shout
  17. roll — a cake
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. lie — to recline
  21. net — in sport
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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