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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. drill — army training
  7. sharp — clever
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. drill — the tool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. present — the time now
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — a practice
  22. present — there
  23. wax — to grow
  24. present — a gift

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