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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · pitcher · net · firm · wake · rule · mine · bark

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. net — for catching
  3. firm — steady
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. firm — decided
  10. rule — government
  11. chest — of your body
  12. firm — a company
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — a box
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rule — a law
  21. net — after costs
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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