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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bark — to shout
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of a king
  10. rest — what's left
  11. net — after costs
  12. court — of law
  13. tube — a container
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. court — for sport
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rest — a break
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. net — in sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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