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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. net — after costs
  6. bark — to shout
  7. staff — employees
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. net — in sport
  10. staff — employees
  11. net — for catching
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. staff — a stick
  15. clip — for paper
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. clip — a video
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stem — to come from
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. clip — to cut
  24. roll — a list

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