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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. net — in sport
  2. fine — high quality
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fine — all right
  5. plane — a tool
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bound — certain
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bound — obliged
  11. last — to go on
  12. bound — tied together
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. last — finally
  16. root — the cause
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. root — of a word
  20. bark — to shout
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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