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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. track — a path
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. net — in sport
  5. key — in music
  6. press — to push
  7. track — to keep track
  8. press — newspapers
  9. row — a line
  10. press — a publisher
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. track — a song
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. staff — employees
  16. net — for catching
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. key — for a lock
  21. spell — magic
  22. row — to paddle
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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