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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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pitch — completely
  4. ball — a dance
  5. prune — to trim
  6. net — after costs
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — in sport
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stand — to bear
  24. pitch — a sports field

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