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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. rest — a break
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. field — for sport
  8. bark — to shout
  9. tear — from crying
  10. net — in sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. sharp — clever
  19. fall — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fall — to drop

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