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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. net — after costs
  3. last — to go on
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. net — for catching
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — finally
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bark — to shout
  24. last — final

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