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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. net — for catching
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. root — the cause
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cap — a hat
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pass — a permit
  16. net — in sport
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. hand — help
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cap — a lid

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