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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. net — after costs
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. net — in sport
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. net — for catching
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rest — a break

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